"[Chin] is going to be walking when he gets out, and my husband will never be the same for the rest of his life."

Christopher Chin, 30, of Great Kills, was sentenced under a plea agreement to three and a half years in prison.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Victor Rao says he's lucky to be alive.

The owner of a popular Port Richmond antiques store and a freight-forwarding business was seriously injured 10 months ago when an ex-convict from Great Kills blew through a stop sign and plowed into Rao's car in New Dorp.

Rao, 52, was in a coma for nearly two months. He lost sight in one eye, almost all the feeling in one arm, broke his hip and can barely walk.

Rao's injuries prevented him from appearing Wednesday at Christopher Chin's sentencing, but he still wanted one strong sentiment expressed on his behalf.

"All I can say is, it's a good thing that Mr. Chin will be off the road for a while," Rao wrote in a short victim-impact statement that Assistant District Attorney Mark Palladino read at the proceeding in state Supreme Court, St. George.

Chin, 30, was sentenced under a plea agreement to three and a half years in prison.

In this November 2009 photo, Wilma and Victor Rao stand in their store, New Niks Old Naks, Port Richmond.

The force of the impact lifted the BMW three feet off the ground and sent it into a utility pole.

Rao and his wife, Wilma Rao, who own the popular Port Richmond antiques store, New Niks Old Naks on Jewett Avenue, were inside the BMW. The West Brighton couple also owns the Port Richmond-based freight-forwarding business, Tri-Ocean Logistics.

Rao, who was in the passenger seat, suffered extensive injuries that hospitalized him for eight months, he said.

Wilma Rao, 56, who was driving, suffered a broken collarbone and broken pelvis.

Police said Chin admitted to having "a few drinks" before the crash. Witnesses said they saw him drink two or three beers, said a law enforcement source.

Authorities said the car's owner, who they identify as an "ex-girlfriend," didn't give him permission to drive it.

Besides prison time, Chin is subject to five years' post-release supervision. His driver's license will be suspended during that entire period as well as while he's behind bars, said Donovan's spokesman.

"For the injuries my husband suffered, that's never enough," Mrs. Rao said in a telephone interview after sentencing. "[Chin] is going to be walking when he gets out, and my husband will never be the same for the rest of his life."

Defense lawyer Leo Duval said his client "fully accepted" responsibility for his actions.

"He told the court he's extremely sorry for the injuries caused to the occupants of the other car, and he's ready to accept his punishment like a man," said Duval in a telephone interview.

Chin is no stranger to prison.

Online records of the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision show Chin previously served a two-to-four year sentence for an attempted-robbery conviction and was conditionally released to parole in June 2009.